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I am Rieka Broere, my maiden name is van der Leige.
And I am Samuel Broere, they call me Sam.
I have been married with Sam for 56 years.
We have a good life, an ordinary life.
I’m Eric, I’ve had a bike messenger company in Rotterdam since 2006.
Every day I work on my bicycle.
Rotterdam is a relatively open city.
I think it’s safer now than during the ‘90s, especially on the streets.
We do some walking, and we go into town.
In the past, everything was dark. The street lights were off.
That was scary.
I am Sander van Beurden, head of Urban Management for the city of Rotterdam.
We want to keep it safe, in working order, and accessible for everyone.
For me light means seeing, living, and feeling safe.
Light reflects on all things you see.
When there’s darkness, that’s not life.
Light is life.
The challenge was to make a city that’s livable.
Philips has helped us tremendously with this.
They have developed the CityTouch System.
It can control the lights at a distance.
You can have a look at energy consumption.
You can see when a light is broken.
You can turn the lights brighter or softer.
We want to remain independent for as long as possible.
But for the elderly, it is difficult.
When it’s light, it makes it all easier.
We work long days.
In the winter, during the last few hours of the day, it’s dark.
And I think that more light can contribute to greater safety for us to do our jobs.
We’d like to expand the system over the whole city.
We look at what the citizens want. They need to feel comfortable and safe in the city.
Light plays a big role in the unconscious experience of safety in the city.
We got married in Town Hall.
We got married in 1957.
We want to keep it up ‘till 2000…
2040 or something.
Yes, 2040.